Business cards are an essential tool for any freelancer. Luckily there are plenty of places online to get them for cheap or free. Here are a few places we’ve used.

VistaPrint
They’ve been around for ages and do an adequate job. Prices are very reasonable and there are frequent sales.

PSPrint
Top quality prints at very good prices. You can request a sample paper pack to see what types of papers and finishes they offer. Be prepared to be pestered by their sales team, though.

Overnight Prints
Also good quality prints. You can have them sent to you super fast if you’re in a pinch.

All of these ship to both US and Canada.

Looking for inspiration?

Check out these:

• Cool business card designs – creativebits.org
• Business Cards on Flickr
• 42 Awesome Business Card Designs (With Links to 100s More) – reencoded.com

What would you do if one day you stumble onto an elevator, only to run into that one person who can take you or your business to the next level (that big sale, angel investor, business mentor, etc)? You have until the elevator ride is done to convince them you are what they need.?

This kind of thing happens all the time. It might be in an elevator, but will probably be somewhere else. It could be in the checkout in the grocery market, on a busy street. You usually only have a short time (often under 30 seconds) to convey a value proposition; what makes you special or unique? Why would they care? You need to have something quick and concise that will grab their attention. That’s where your elevator pitch comes in.

The elevator pitch is a powerful tool in your marketing toolbox. Some questions your elevator pitch should answer:

• What is the problem your business or idea solves?
• Is it simple and easy to understand?
• Would people want to know more?
• Does it get you excited?

Here’s an example from StartupNation:

Our company is called ConstructionBoots.com, an e-commerce website that sells brandname construction boots. There are currently no companies serving this niche exclusively. ConstructionBoots.com will drive traffic to the site by linking to other websites catering to the construction industry as well as through word-of-mouth. In industry surveys, over 90% of construction workers have these three traits: 1) they have a favorite brand of boots, 2) they know their size, and 3) they hate shopping at stores. In our own polling, over 70% indicated that they would prefer to buy their boots online and have them delivered. Accordingly, we expect a great market response and rapid sales ramp-up.

We need $1.5 million in funding to get to the point where the company is self-sustaining. This should happen in the middle of our second year. Right now, we’re seeking $500,000 of initial funding in exchange for a 30% ownership stake in the company. I am the CEO with lots of operational experience and deep contacts with boot manufacturers. Our Marketing Director was instrumental in the growth and recent sale of a very successful e-commerce clothing company. If we hit our numbers, we expect to be able to sell ConstructionBoots.com to a ‘brick and mortar’ retailer within 3 years.

A good elevator pitch should be versatile. You should be prepared to use it at social gatherings, on the phone, when meeting new people, or with anyone you need to give a short quick summary of your idea or business.

For more info, read:
http://www.yourelevatorpitch.com/
http://www.nfib.com/object/IO_20027.html
http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/38-how-to-pitch-an-idea/

• It may take a while to sort out your rates, but the sooner you nail them down, the easier (and more profitable) your freelance life will become.
• Not all jobs are worth taking. You may be tempted to take on anything and everything at first, but itís important to know when to say no. Rather than working for next-to-nothing, better to use your time to cultivate good paying jobs.
• Working from home can be difficult. Youíll need to be disciplined enough to resist distractions. Set regular office hours and donít get distracted by housekeeping tasks and other diversions that can wait till the work is done.
• Most new work comes from word of mouth. A happy customer is a walking advertisement.
• Stay organized. Keep your office neat, so you donít waste time looking for misplaced items or forgetting to return calls.
• Balance your work and personal time ñ itís the key to success and happiness. Work hard, but take time to recharge your batteries.
• Itís normal in the first year to go from dry spell to deluge, feast to famine. Things will level out in the long run.

More Great Wisdom

Indy Web Shop: Lessons Learned After 2 Months & 1 Year
Cameron Moll:?10 things learned in 180 days &?10 more things in 360 days

Of course if you want a kick butt start, be sure to check out the StepByStep Guide to Starting A Freelance Business

Welcome to the Step-By-Step Guides blog — where you come to get help with your start up freelance business.

Youíre ready to start your life in freelancing, but donít know where to begin. Right now, you probably have a deluge of questions and a dearth of answers. Do you quit your job right away and plunge into your new endeavor full-time? How do you begin getting clients and making sales? Whatís the best way to make contacts, both online and offline? What equipment will you need to get started? How do you schedule your time?

Step-By-Step Guidesí Starting a Freelance Business and our blog will help you find answers to all of these critical questions, and the information we provide will likely mean youíll divert your trajectory from crash-and-burn, to a success that more than meets your expectations. Our blog will help you save money and time, not to mention supply you with rocket fuel to catapult your earnings into the big dollars you want to earn.

How do we know so much about starting a freelance business? Because weíre professional freelancers whoíve been there, done that. We have the skills that will save you time and money. Ready to give it a try? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, because we stand behind our guide 100%, which means that youíre happy, or weíll refund your money, no questions asked.

Welcome to the StepByStep Guides blog, where our highest priority is giving you the tools youíll need to start your freelance career and make it a success. ?

Starting a freelance business is a time honored tradition and a grand adventure, but in order to realize your goals — financial freedom, flexible hours, creative autonomy, working in your pajamas, not killing your obnoxious boss, among others — youíll need skills that can only be learned by people whoíve made freelancing a success. ?

Thatís where we come in. ?StepByStep Guides are written by professionals in the freelance business — people whoíve sweated the mistakes, paid the dues (and the bills), persevered and proceeded to make their freelancing goals a reality. ?And theyíre here to help you avoid those same mistakes, so youíve got a jumpstart on making the dollars youíll need to survive. ?Even better, we stand behind our work with integrity, which means that we guarantee 100% satisfaction, or your money back. ?

We hope youíll visit our blog often, to get the latest tips and news on starting a freelance business. ?Thanks, and again, welcome!